blue artichoke

I was a remarkably attractive child. I say "remarkably" because grown-ups would often remark, "You're just as cute as a button!" or "Where did you get such beautiful hair?" Both of these remarks were very confusing to a little girl. How cute are buttons? And why the fascination with my hair? My brother had dark brown/black hair and I don't remember anyone going on about his hair color. My dad had dark hair and my mom had light brown hair; why would adults wonder where I got my brown hair? According to my grandmother, I was a blue-eyed blonde baby, and pictures confirm very light brown hair in my early years. So the question of where I got my brown hair was quite perplexing. What had I done? I retired to to the bottom of my wardrobe (also known as my Most Horrible Place), where I would go to sulk or cry over the injustices of being a little sister, or to figure out the complexities of the world. And there in my most horrible place, I realized how I had turned my blonde hair brown: pancake syrup. Oh, I loved the stuff! Not even maple syrup, but the much cheaper caramel-colored sugar syrup. I would sneak down to the pantry and squeeze it straight into my mouth, just a few gulps at a time. I didn't like syrup on my pancakes or waffles, nope, just straight from the source, and in secret. I don't know if my mother ever wondered why we went through so much pancake syrup; I don't remember having pancakes or waffles that often. I also doubted that other kids drank so much pancake syrup, so that must be what darkened my hair. I'm not sure how long after making this discovery I stopped drinking pancake syrup straight from the bottle. I still don't often take pancake syrup on my pancakes, or if I do, only the tiniest amount. If I weren't such a health nut, I'd reconsider my rejection of pancake syrup. No one calls me cute as a button or remarks on my beautiful brown hair anymore. Probably because my hair has green undertones as a result of henna gone bad, and lots of grey. Nothing a bit of pancake syrup can't fix.

Getting to Know All About You: What was your favorite food as a child?